A groaning ghost in Sussex, murderers changing into dogs in Wiltshire, the Devil buying a pint in Devon, we've delved through thousands of paranormal reports to find the most haunted places in Britain.

The Paranormal Database has 11,000 reports of hauntings, curses and other paranormal and unexplained activity, and we reckon it's the most comprehensive database on the subject.

So, where is the most haunted county in England?

The county in England with the single most reports of hauntings is... Yorkshire .

Yorkshire is apparently home to hundreds of ghosts, a few black shucks (black dogs said to roam the countryside), poltergeists, and even Old Nick (the devil) himself.

Yorkshire has experienced all manner of things - there are 587 reports of paranormal activity , in fact.

Coming in second is London, with 518 reports, then Lancashire with 493. Essex and Sussex are the fourth and fifth most haunted counties in Britain, with 452 and 403 reports respectively.

Yorkshire is OFFICIALLY the most haunted county in England

For straight-up hauntings, Yorkshire comes in first with a whopping 404. These are your bog-standard apparitions that can be seen, heard, smelled or otherwise sensed.

It was hard to pick a good one from this huge list of reports. We find the tale of Kitty Garthwaite, who haunts the River Dove, interesting:

"Kitty drowned herself after being jilted by her lover, having told him that she was pregnant. She now hates men to such a degree, that she has been seen naked, luring men into the water to kill them."

Cumbria is the most cursed county

There are 7 reported curses in Cumbria. Our favourite is the curse of the reappearing skulls in Calgarth Hall:

"Belonging to a married farming couple, the skulls came back to haunt the person who framed them for a crime that resulted in their execution. No matter how they were destroyed, the grinning skulls always returned to the hall, until the death of the man they cursed."

Poltergeists love Essex and Sussex

There have been 23 reports of poltergeists (ghosts who interact with the world - mainly turning things on and off or hiding things) in Essex and Sussex.

The reports are actually quite recent, too. In Sussex at a house in Ditchling Road: " A couple who moved into this property in 2003 reported an entity that turns on the radio and water taps, and groans when discussed. "

Cornwall has the most myths and legends

There's a lot of legends in Cornwall (54 in fact), and lots that concern stones and King Arthur.

At Bossiney Mound at midnight on 20th June each year, "King Arthur's table is said to surface from the mound, briefly waiting for the man to sit at it once more."

The devil went down to Devon

Old Nick has been sighted 15 times in Devon over the years.

At the Tavistock Inn in the 17th Century, Satan himself was said to have visited for a pint during a storm:

"He resembled a normal man, apart from his cloven feet that were spotted by the landlady. While the Devil did pay for his drink, the money turned into old leaves the moment he left."

Doppelgangers and appearances of people who are living

A manifestation of the living is the ghostly apparition of someone who is not yet dead, and it can include doppelgangers. This has happened most in London, but only 4 times.

According to the database, Queen Elizabeth I was spotted in Richmond Palace while she was on her deathbed:

"As she lay dying elsewhere, Elizabeth was observed standing at a window of the palace. A few reports say she still haunts the building. There are also more recent reports of phantom horses hooves heard clopping around the courtyard."

Post-mortem manifestations

A post-mortem manifestation is when someone appears briefly after they die. This is most common in Essex, where there have been 21 such events.

In 1993 at St Botolph's Priory, " a young girl reported that while playing with her friends around the gravestones, she saw a dark figure by a tomb that smiled at her before disappearing into thin air."

Black Shucks / Hell Hounds in Wiltshire and Norfolk

A shuck is a ghostly black dog said to roam the countryside. They're most sighted in Norfolk and Wiltshire - there have been 28 reports in each county . In Wiltshire the black dog has been sighted all over the place, reoccurring many times and as recently as 2008.

"The phantom black dog that haunted this area was believed by some to be a former murderer, or the Devil. The dog was said to have been banished in 1931, after a local Reverend buried some bones in the churchyard which had been discovered in a cottage, although it has been seen since, most recently in 2008 by a witness who described it as having an abnormally shiny coat and a spiked collar."

Dorset and the Isle of Wight are hotbeds for "environmental manifestations"

Environmental manifestations are where the landscape changes - for instance, if somebody sees a house that doesn't exist, or Both places have had 5 reports of environmental manifestations.

In the Isle of Wight near Knighton Gorges, there's a great report about an ongoing house party in a house that doesn't exist:

"A manor house has been seen in the area, a party in full flow visible through its windows. However, the house was demolished many years previous. Even when not seen, locals have reported hearing the sounds of music coming from the site. A large black knight on horseback is still occasionally seen, once a year."